John 1:43-51 ~ Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!

I saw you under the fig tree.

Nathanael was having a prayer conversation with the Lord; a quiet moment to discuss something very important with Him. Nathanael knew this prayer was an intensely important prayer discussion. Nathanael was coming in all honesty, straight to the Lord.

After being questioned by Peter over a withered fig tree, Jesus says: Mark 11:22-24
“Have faith in God," Jesus answered. "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

During prayer, a believing Nathanael knows, deeply in his soul, the Lord God has been part of their prayer conversation and listens with an open, loving heart. Nathanael recognizes immediately Jesus is the Christ, the long promised Son of God, sent to save God’s people. Nathanael recognizes Jesus as his Savior.

Nathanael recognizes Jesus again in the last chapter of the book of John.

John 21:1-7, 12
Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Tiberias. It happened this way: Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. "I'm going out to fish," Simon Peter told them, and they said, "We'll go with you." So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.

He called out to them, "Friends, haven't you any fish?"

"No," they answered.
He said, "Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some." When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.

Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!"

12 Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." None of the disciples dared ask him, "Who are you?" They knew it was the Lord.

Jesus was very pleased with the first person to recognize Him, even before the disciples were banded together. He was amused by Nathanael, his bluntness, but the Lord knew Nathanael spoke to the Lord expecting Him to show up. With Nathanael’s belief, Nathanael had no trouble discerning the Lord.

We are all called. Jesus invites us to come and see greater things. Come and see, come and be a part of greater things!

Psalm 68:19
Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up,
The God who is our salvation. Selah

John 1:43-51

43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.”

44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”

47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!”

48 Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?”
Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”

49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”

50 Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

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